World's Newest
by turambar499
Summary: This is a "What if?" story that explores how Barry and Kara might have interacted had they existed in the same universe and become superheroes at around the same time. I like to think of it as yet another one of the Earths chugging along in the multiverse: largely the same except when it's not.
1. Someone else? Something else?

World's Newest

 _This is a "What if?" story that explores how Barry and Kara might have interacted had they existed in the same universe and become superheroes at around the same time. I strive to maintain the spirit of the characters established on the television shows as much as possible, but I do take some minor liberties with various storyline details compared to the canon of the shows. I like to think of it as yet another one of the Earths chugging along in the multiverse: largely the same except when it's not._

 _Some geographical notes: National City is assumed to be located near Los Angeles, CA. Starling City is assumed to be located near San Jose, CA. Central City is assumed to be located near Kansas City, MO._

 _The story will be a series of chapters loosely inspired by this video (which I did NOT make, just found on Youtube):_

 _watch?v=GhYwwYRzOx0 &index=7&list=LLiIG3wT07QAWasLwbmgz59w_

 _The normal notes: Characters, environments, etc. belong to the CW. The continuity used is everything seen up to and including The Flash Season 2 and Supergirl Season 1. This is written purely for fun. Thanks for giving my story a chance._

...

"And with breaking news out of Metropolis, Superman has dazzled the city yet again with another…"

Kara had turned on the television while getting dressed. She didn't expect anything interesting to be on, as it was so early that the sky was still dark outside, but of course there was _another_ story about _another_ wondrous thing her cousin had done. Same old, same old.

Sometimes Kara was jealous of Clark and the way he openly used his powers to do good and help people. She could do all the same things he could, after all. Why shouldn't she be using her abilities the same way he was?

Then again, she had been sent to Earth to watch over and protect Clark while he grew up, a job that was unnecessary from the moment she had finally landed. Did the world really need _two_ superpeople? She knew how complicated her cousin's life was, constantly living in two worlds and having to hide one or the other from various people, especially those with less charitable feelings towards aliens. Blending in was simpler. Easier. Safer.

A sigh escaped her lips as her mind flipped through the same argument it had had with itself on and off since the day she was adopted. She hadn't come to a real conclusion yet, and she doubted today would be any different. Besides, she had to get going if she was going to catch Winn before he started his new job…in Central City.

Opening the window of her apartment, she looked upon the pretty National City skyline at night. In the dark clothes she was wearing, it was virtually impossible anyone would see her leaving. Coming back…well, she'd figure that part out later.

Looking back at the television, she saw an aerial shot of her cousin gliding among the skyscrapers of Metropolis, a dopey grin on his face after his latest good deeds. Kara rolled her eyes. "Always the boy scout," she muttered.

With that, she flipped off the television, tossed the remote onto a chair, and shot out into the night, flying at top speed towards Central City. Just because her powers were a secret from most people didn't mean she wasn't going to use them to see off a friend.

…

"Following his latest success in Metropolis, Superman calls for a unified team of heroes to address enhanced threats…"

Barry snorted. _Yeah, Oliver would be thrilled with that idea_. The idea of the Green Arrow working well with anyone, especially someone as squeaky clean as Superman, put a well-needed grin on Barry's face as he slogged through more paperwork.

Admittedly, Barry was a bit jealous of people like Superman and Green Arrow, who were making each of their cities, and the world in general, a safer place. Strictly speaking, he was too, working for the Central City Police Department as a crime scene investigator, but his efforts felt distinctly less impactful when they consisted primarily of filling in evidence descriptions and victim injuries. He frequently wished he could do more, but he had neither Oliver's unique training nor Superman's alien heritage. Ultimately, he figured he would have to make his peace with his contributions as a CSI, plus the occasional foray into Starling City to help Oliver catch some bad guys.

Lost in thought, Barry glanced at his watch and scrambled to his feet, realizing he was going to be late for coffee with Iris, and if he was late for that, he was probably going to be late in meeting up with the new guy he was supposed to show around the CCPD. His head swiveled between the door of his lab and the reports he had yet to complete, and he decided he would just have to take them with him and somehow finish them on the way. Hurriedly, he gathered the unfinished reports in his hands and stuffed a pen into his pocket before exiting his lab and locking the door. Glancing at his watch again, he saw he was now _really_ late.

"Run, Barry," he sighed to himself. "Run." And he did.


	2. Crossing streams

"I can't believe you left me!"

Kara sat on the desk and stared down at Winn with her best pout, but her only reward was Winn rolling his eyes and smiling. He clearly wasn't grasping the severity of the situation.

"Come on, Kara. You will get along perfectly fine at CatCo without me."

"Uh, excuse me? Who am I going to complain to when Siobhan gets all snooty with me? Who's going to sympathize when Ms. Grant makes me proofread five billion columns in a week?"

"…James?"

Kara shook her head dismissively. "He's too wrapped up with Lucy right now. You have to come back! Why did you _leave_ me?" she finished, ostentatiously shaking her fists in the air.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic," Winn chuckled. "As fun as it was getting verbally abused by Ms. Grant day in and day out, I think I can put my skills to better use than managing CatCo's blogs."

Kara dropped her fists and let go of her bit, deciding she had ribbed her friend enough. " _Fine_ ," she said, smiling. "I _am_ proud of you, Winn, and honestly, impressed too. I mean, look at this place," she continued, gesturing with her hands and swiveling her head around to look at the polished floors, burnished wood paneling, and swirling flow of activity around her. "The Central City Police Department? That's a huge jump from CatCo IT guy."

"I know," Winn sighed, swiveling in his chair at his new desk. "But this feels right to me, you know? Working in cybersecurity is something I've always wanted to do, and there's just so much more good I can do with the CCPD."

Kara nodded in agreement. "I'm really happy for you, Winn."

"Thanks Kara. You know, you didn't have to come all this way just to wish me a good first day. National City isn't exactly close."

"Ah, don't worry about it. You know it's not a problem for me. I _am_ faster than a speeding bullet, after all," she said, winking.

Winn laughed. "Yes, yes, I know. Just don't get into any trouble on my account. I don't want you accidentally outing yourself just to check up on me. The world already has one hero flying around in red and blue tights. "

"Okay," Kara said. She glanced at her watch. "Well, I guess I should leave you to it, then. You said someone would be coming by to show you around your first day, right?"

"Yeah," Winn nodded. "Someone named Barry."

"Alright then," Kara sighed, getting up from the desk and holding out her arms as Winn stood to hug her. "Go get 'em."

"Thanks, Kara," Winn replied, hugging her tightly. "I'll text you later to tell you how it goes."

"You better." With that, Kara let go of Winn, gave him one last smile, and turned around to leave only to immediately bump into someone. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Kara immediately exclaimed, worried that, as she sometimes did, she had accidentally knocked someone down. It was always hard to explain how someone with her petite frame could send someone sprawling.

Fortunately, the person she ran into only stumbled a bit as he cradled a coffee in his left hand and folders in his right, although his eyes widened slightly in surprise at how solidly she had knocked him off balance. "It's alright," he said, holding up his laden hands and grinning. "I've done more than my fair share of clumsy," he added, sheepishly.

"This is true," the girl next to him agreed, although Kara's mind only partially registered her, as she was mildly distracted by the guy's smile. She quickly realized she had zoned out and nervously chuckled, adjusting her glasses as she did. Peering up, she saw the guy was also fidgeting, stealing glances at her while trying to _not_ appear like he was stealing glances at her.

The girl next to him stared as they both continued to fidget, then shook her head and filled the uncomfortable silence by turning to Winn. "Hi, I'm Iris," she said, switching her own coffee to her left hand so she could hold out her right to shake, "and my perennially awkward friend here is Barry," she finished, tilting her head to the side in the guy's direction. "You're the new hire, right? Barry's supposed to show you around."

"Right, I'm Winn. Nice to meet you," Winn replied, shaking her hand and smiling before turning to shake Barry's hand. "I'm excited to be here."

"We're happy to have you, man," Barry replied, shaking out of his distraction and turning to Winn. "I'm a CSI here at the CCPD, so I'm actually just going to give you the general tour. When we get to cybersecurity, I'll pass you off to one of their guys."

Winn nodded. "Okay. When do we start?"

"Just a couple minutes. I need to run up to my lab to drop off these case reports," Barry said, indicating the files he'd stuck under his arm. "After that, I'll be right down and we'll get started. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

"Cool. Be right back." Barry turned around to go but was immediately slapped on the arm by Iris. "Ow! What…" Barry started, but upon seeing Iris staring at him and cocking her head to the side, he remembered his manners. He turned back around and held his hand to Kara. "Oh! And, uh, it was very nice to meet you…um?"

"Kara," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "I'm a friend of Winn's."

"Barry. Pleasure running into you. Literally," he finished with a grin.

Kara snorted at the little joke. _Wow, that was attractive_ , an embarrassed Kara thought sarcastically, but Barry just laughed with her before turning around, and with a quick "Nice to meet you" from Iris to Kara, the two of them headed to the stairs and, Kara assumed, Barry's crime lab. She watched them go, or more specifically, watched Barry go, before turning around and finding Winn smirking at her.

"Shut up," she muttered, before grabbing her coat and heading to the CCPD's exit.

…

They were halfway down the corridor to his lab when Barry couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, _why_ do you look so smug?" he asked Iris.

Iris rolled his eyes. "I know you're not that oblivious, Barry. You were totally checking out that girl!"

"Who, Kara? No! I was just…I mean, I wasn't–"

Iris held up her hand, smiling teasingly. "Save it, Barry. I won't get on your case, but I'm just saying, you should've asked her out."

Barry groaned internally. Ever since Iris had started dating her dad's partner, Eddie, she'd been relentlessly trying to get Barry to date more, partially so she'd have another couple to hang out with. He knew she meant well, but he wasn't the type of person to force the issue.

"Okay fine. Yes, Kara was cute, but excuse me for being a little distracted today. Between showing the new guy around and the mountain of tests I still need to finish for Joe, I don't know how I'm going to catch the STAR Labs presentation, let alone go on a date," Barry replied, obviously frazzled as he opened his lab door.

"Barry," Iris laughed, "I didn't mean you had to take her out _today_." She followed him into his lab and glanced at the screen of one of the desktops, seeing an online map of Central City and the surrounding area. "You're definitely going to have to work fast so you can leave early," she admitted, tracing her finger to a place beyond the city limits. "STAR Labs is pretty far out of the way. What are they doing in the middle of nowhere?"

"Turning on a new particle accelerator. Super sensitive, federal government-funded equipment, so they wanted to keep it separate from any major metro areas," Barry explained, quickly sorting his things so as to not keep Winn waiting too long. "They can't have just anyone barging into the lab whenever they feel like it."

"Makes sense. Well, I guess I'll let you get to work, then. Thanks for the coffee," she said, holding up the latte in her hand, "and I hope you make it to STAR Labs in time."

"Thanks. We still on for lunch tomorrow?"

"You bet."

Barry nodded and was sorting the last few reports before hearing Iris call out as she walked away down the hall, "Just don't get blasted when they switch on their atom smasher-thingy tonight."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm sure it's perfectly safe," he called back.


	3. Doesn't have to be competition

It was around the seventh ball of ice to the ribs that Kara was starting to get _really_ annoyed.

 _Stupid particle accelerator_ , Kara thought as she picked herself up and launched into the air, putting distance between her and the current icicle in her side, a simple criminal named Mark Mardon who was suddenly not so simple a criminal. Now he was a criminal who could control wind, pitch fastballs of solid ice, and launch bolts of lightning from his fingertips.

"Just get out of my face, Supergirl!" Mardon yelled, swirling his hands to form new ice balls. "I've got no beef with you!"

"Too bad, because I've got a beef with you," Kara replied, and as yet another volley of ice screamed towards her, she used her heat vision to vaporize the projectiles into puffs of steam. Mardon growled in frustration, and arcs of electricity began forming between his fingers again.

To say that life had changed for Kara in the past month would be the understatement of the year. When the experimental STAR Labs particle accelerator on the outskirts of Central City mysteriously exploded, the whole nation was in an uproar over the potential fallout from the federal facility. Of course, the government made assurances to the general public that they were in no danger, assurances that were turned on their head mere days later when people with unexplainable powers began popping up across the country causing havoc.

"And how, may I ask, did I piss off the goody two-shoes of National City? We're not even _in_ National City!" Bolts of lightning shot from his hands. Kara dodged.

"You put someone I love in danger. That's reason enough to track you down!" Kara could see the understandable confusion on Mardon's face, since there was no way he could know that the plane he had tried to knock out of the sky while test-driving his powers weeks ago happened to have had Alex on board. Saving her sister, and the plane, had convinced Kara that it was time to reveal herself to the world, and her familiar skillset naturally led to the "Supergirl" moniker. Considering the world now included people like Mardon, perhaps her decision had come none too soon.

"Whatever, Superbimbo. Your cousin may be unbeatable, but you're just an amateur." More balls of ice, further irritating Kara. The two had worked into a stalemate, since none of his attacks could do her any long-term injury, but he was also working the air currents furiously around his body, repelling her whenever she flew or ran too close. It was time for a different approach.

"You talk too much," she growled, and she charged her eyes for another blast of heat vision and aimed carefully. At the exact moment Mardon was about to hurl another ice ball from his hand, she shot the ball, sending a blast of superheated steam into his face and momentarily blinding him as he screamed in pain. Kara seized the moment and used her speed to rush through the gale he was momentarily too distracted to maintain, and one Kryptonian punch later, he was on the ground, unconscious.

Kara sighed as she stood over Mardon. She knew it would have been simpler to just blast him directly with her heat vision, but that felt unnecessarily cruel to her, as he was still technically only human. Her strength and speed she could modulate as she needed, but against living tissue her heat vision pretty much had only one setting: _Die, scum!_ Besides, since she was working for the DEO now, and by extension, the U.S. government, she supposed she should set an example, even if the government itself didn't have the spine to own up to the STAR Labs disaster.

Muttering over the irony of an alien (and arguably an illegal one, at that) trying to uphold corny American ideals, Kara went over to the car Mardon was fleeing in before she caught up with him, ripped off a piece of the bumper, and wrapped it around his hands so he couldn't do any more weather wizarding. She then picked up his unconscious body and began flying back towards National City.

…

Barry wished finding all criminals was as easy as seeing lightning in the sky.

He had expected to be in National City for days tracking down Mark Mardon using information he and the CCPD had gleaned from capturing his brother, Clyde Mardon. He had _not_ expected to spot lightning shooting from a suspiciously small cloud in an otherwise clear sky while running west across the country.

 _My lucky day_ , he thought sarcastically, working to put on another burst of speed.

A month ago, Barry hadn't made it to STAR Labs after all to see the presentation, and he was stuck in his crime lab when the particle accelerator exploded. He remembered a bolt of lightning and a splash of chemicals, and then nothing as he apparently fell into a coma, waking up a week later at STAR Labs completely healthy and with the power of superspeed. He was, in the words of Dr. Harrison Wells, a "metahuman."

His initial reaction was normal. He flipped out.

Was everything about him sped up now? Would he age faster and die an old man within a few days? Could he end up running too fast and just disintegrate? Were his reflexes sped up as well, or was he going to keep pinballing off walls?

Eventually, the team at STAR Labs calmed him down and assured him they would help him control his new abilities, which came in handy rather promptly as multiple other new "metas" emerged with far more nefarious plans for their new abilities. The past month had seen Barry get quite the on-the-job training as he took down a meta who turned anything she touched into an explosive, a meta who turned into a sentient mist, and a meta who could duplicate himself. All this, of course, was on top of the normal crazies that he now felt responsible for apprehending in Central City, such as the psychopath "Trickster" who tried to blackmail citizens with poison.

The latest meta he had handled, Clyde Mardon, was able to control the weather, and after incapacitating him and turning him over to the CCPD, it was soon discovered he had a brother with similar abilities operating somewhere near National City, prompting his cross country run towards the West Coast and his lightning sighting. He arrived at the location just in time to pick out a tiny red-and-blue speck in the distance, flying towards the city and looking like it was carrying something. "Aw, come on," Barry lamented. "I ran all this way for nothing?!" Sighing, Barry sped off, trying to chase down what could only be the Girl of Steel.

Barry didn't catch up with her until they reached National City. He wasn't sure how he'd get her attention from the ground, but her eyesight must have been just as Super as the rest of her, because soon she swiftly changed direction and landed right in front of him, forcing him to abruptly stop running.

"Whoa, sharp turn there!" Barry exclaimed, skidding a little from his sudden stop. "Careful, I'm still working on my brakes."

Barry smiled at Supergirl, intending for his comment to be a light-hearted conversation starter, but his smile melted off when she stood in front of the unconscious body she was carrying, her fists on her hips and a glare in her eyes.

"What do you want?" she demanded. "Are you following me? Are you working with Mardon?"

"What? No! I'm not…I'm trying to bring him in!"

"You have powers! There's no other way you'd catch up with me!"

"Yes, but–"

"Don't you dare hurt my city! I won't let any of you harm anyone!"

Too late, Barry realized that the reputation of everyone who developed abilities after the particle accelerator accident had quickly spread across the nation. Most of the metas making headlines were making them for the wrong reasons, and if he didn't defuse the situation fast, he was going to be Supergirl's punching bag.

He held up his hands. "Listen, I'm not like those other metahumans, I–"

"Like those other what?"

"Metahumans," Barry repeated. "It's what we call people who were changed by the accident at STAR Labs."

Supergirl still looked at him suspiciously, but she wasn't beating him to a pulp, so he figured that was a good thing. "Look, I have superspeed, and I'm trying to use my powers to help people. I've been working together with the police to lock up metahumans in Central City." After saying the words "Central City," Barry saw Supergirl's expression immediately change to curiosity and, unless he was reading her wrong, a little excitement.

"Wait, you're the Red Streak?" she asked.

Barry winced. "Uh, I'm trying to get that name changed." Still, he was glad Supergirl had stopped giving him the stinkeye, not to mention a little flattered she had at least heard of his exploits. Having Iris work at Central City Picture News certainly had its perks.

"But you _are_ the Streak, right?" Again, Barry winced, but he nodded. "That's so cool! I've been following the rumors from Central City! Did you really run through a wall to get an explosive off you?" Supergirl asked excitedly.

Barry recalled his memorable encounter with the Trickster. "Well, technically I vibrated my molecules through the wall, but yeah, that happened."

Supergirl's eyes became like saucers, causing Barry to crack up. "Why are you so amazed? You're Supergirl!" Of course, news of her heroics in National City had reached Central City as well, and he was actually a huge fan, feeling a sense of kinship with her as they had both entered the superhero business at around the same time. "You beat Reactron. Superman couldn't beat Reactron. _The_ Superman couldn't do something, and you did it!" Barry gushed, gesturing enthusiastically with his hands.

Supergirl tucked her hair behind her ear bashfully, but she seemed flattered by his praise all the same. "Well, I guess he just needed a different approach," she began, but Barry was too excited to let her finish.

"Yeah, a lead glove. That was genius!" Supergirl laughed, and Barry was afraid he had gone "full nerd" again, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Well, I can't vibrate through walls. I just keep making Supergirl-shaped holes in them."

Barry smiled, feeling giddy at making a new friend, but then he was distracted by movement behind Supergirl, and he realized Mardon was regaining conscious. Putting on a burst of speed, he quickly moved to Supergirl's side and punched him in the face, knocking him out again.

Supergirl stumbled back a bit, clearly surprised. "Wow," she said, impressed, "you are _fast_. I've got my own speed, but I barely caught you doing that."

Barry shrugged. "Yeah, sometimes I don't believe it myself." Mardon's brief stirring had brought Barry back to the reason he was here in the first place. "Look, I _was_ in fact following you because I got a lead on Mardon after arresting his brother in Central City. Obviously you have things under control, but I wanted to ask where you're taking him. The National City police?"

"Sort of," Supergirl hedged. "There's a department of the U.S. government operating near National City. Technically, its job isn't to deal with…what did you call them?"

"Metahumans."

"Right, metahumans. Anyway, for the moment this department has been handling the, I guess, 'unusual' criminals in and around National City until we can come up with a better solution. They do keep the NCPD in the loop, though."

"Got it," Barry replied. "STAR Labs has been working in the same way with the CCPD." He glanced at the limp body at their feet. "Well, since you've got Mardon, could you just make sure your police department gets in touch with CCPD? Let them know that Mardon's been apprehended?"

"Will do," Supergirl nodded.

"Great," Barry sighed. "Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Supergirl."

"You too, Stre–…er, what should I call you?"

"I've been trying to make 'The Flash' a thing. Think it'll catch on?"

Supergirl laughed. "If you want, I'll spread the word for you."

"Thanks," Barry chuckled. "See you around, then."

Supergirl tilted her head. "You're going to _run_ all the way back to Central City? That sounds exhausting."

Barry shrugged. "I'll listen to a podcast or something."

Teasing one last laugh out of his new friend, Barry gave her a little wave, which she happily returned. He then watched as she picked up Mardon and shot back into the sky before turning around and running back the way he came. True, a podcast would have been nice, but his mind got caught up in his meeting with _the_ Supergirl, and before he knew it, he was back home.


	4. I'll cover for you

"You and Winn must be pretty close for you to come out all this way from National City," Barry remarked.

"Yeah, we do go way back," Kara admitted. "He was the first person I became friends with when I started working at CatCo."

Barry nodded. "Still, that's a ton of mileage. Are you two…?"

"Oh, no! No, we're just friends," Kara insisted, surprised. "Traveling's not a big deal for me, that's all."

"Really?" Barry looked impressed. "Wow, being Cat Grant's personal assistant must have its perks."

"What?" Kara's mind had drifted briefly into the exhilarating feeling of flying between National and Central City and didn't realize her little slip. Luckily, Barry had already given her an out. "Oh…uh yeah, that's it! We have, uh, some CatCo subsidiaries out here, and Ms. Grant sends me to check up on them sometimes."

Barry nodded again, seemingly satisfied with her explanation, and Kara let out a mental sigh of relief, glad her secret was still safe. She had come back to Central City to see how Winn was doing and was invited out by him, Barry, Iris, and their friend Felicity to a local coffee shop, CC Jitters, where they had taken a table on the roof. Felicity, apparently a very fast and excitable chatterbox, was regaling Winn and Iris with the recent activities of the Green Arrow in Starling while she and Barry had drifted over to the balcony around the roof.

Admittedly, Kara had been hoping to run into Barry again. She needed a distraction to help her forget about the new curveballs in her life, and while he was half a country away, traveling was, as she said, not too much of an obstacle for her. Of course, a little voice in her head also pointed out that she liked his company and wanted to spend more time with him.

A small jump made her turn her head from her thoughts as Barry reached into his pocket to take out his vibrating phone. He looked at the screen for a moment before turning his head to her apologetically. "Sorry, I really need to take this. It's, uh, work," he said.

"No, go ahead," Kara said, waving him on. "Ms. Grant keeps me on call all the time too, I get it."

"Thanks," Barry said, smiling. "Hopefully I'll just be a minute."

"Take your time." With that, Barry walked to a corner, answering his phone.

Winn took the opportunity to extricate himself from Felicity's story and walk up to Kara. "You really don't have to come out all this way to see me, you know. I'm doing just fine, Kara."

"Hey, since when do I need a reason to see my best friend?"

"Alright," Winn replied, holding up his hands. "But if you end up neglecting your superhero duties while you're out here, I am not to blame."

"Duly noted," Kara laughed. "It's fine. Alex is keeping an eye on things."

"Seriously, though. Is it safe for you to be so far from National City? That prison break can't be easy for Alex to handle by herself."

Kara sighed. It was true that she had wanted to leave to visit Winn, but there were other reasons as well. When she had embraced her identity as Supergirl, Alex had filled her in on certain details related to her arrival on Earth. Namely, that an alien fortress housing dangerous extraterrestrial criminals, called Fort Rozz, had crashed landed on the planet along with her pod.

"Well," Kara replied, "it's been quiet for a while since we got Vartox. Maybe seeing me take him down was enough to make the rest lay low."

Winn laughed grimly. "Look, I've been in Central City long enough to know bad guys aren't like that. If metahumans are still challenging the Flash, aliens will still be challenging you."

"Aren't you just a bright ray of sunshine?" Kara retorted sarcastically. It bothered her that Winn was probably right. Until recently, the fort had in fact been dormant, and the DEO simply kept it hidden and under guard. Unfortunately, the energies released by the particle accelerator explosion were more far-reaching than the government was willing to admit, and one side effect was the sudden raising of the prisoners from dormancy to activity, leading to a prison break. Kara had been run ragged by the various criminals she had had to recapture and throw back into their cells, on top of metahumans like Mardon that she now had to keep an eye out for as well, and so when a lull in criminal activity arose, she took it to get away for a little while. Alex assured her the DEO was perfectly capable of handling things until she returned, but part of Kara still twinged guiltily at leaving National City.

She shook out of her thoughts and looked over to see if Barry was done with his call, only to notice that he was gone and Felicity and Iris were coming to join them.

"Where did Barry go?"

"Oh! He, um, had to leave," Felicity stammered. "Really bad…uh…nosebleed! Yeah, nosebleed! Blood, you know. Just, like, from his nose. And, uh, everywhere. Blehhhh," she finished, gesticulating with her hands to imply a rather explosive nasal event.

"Wait, really?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, he'll be fine," Felicity assured her, in a high pitched voice that did not project much confidence. "He gets those sometimes; he's a bit fragile. He didn't want you to see that."

"He seemed fine just a minute ago. He said he had to take a call from work."

"Oh! Um…"

"What Felicity means to say," Iris interjected, "is that he got a call from Captain Singh and was basically forced to go into work for a little bit."

"On a weekend?"

"Yeah, Barry's been on a bit of short leash with him lately," Iris explained. "Barry's good at his job, but he's not always very punctual with it. He doesn't want to get fired so…" Iris trailed off, shrugged her shoulders.

"Ugh. I know how that feels," Kara sympathized, thinking of Ms. Grant's own, usually odd after-hours demands.

"Yeah," Iris said. "He asked us to make an excuse that didn't make him sound lame, and apparently Felicity's idea of that is a…nosebleed."

"I thought about saying really bad diarrhea, but I wasn't sure he'd be comfortable with that excuse."

Kara stared.

"Hey, I had to work for Oliver Queen when Palmer Tech was still Queen Consolidated," Felicity defended. "You've read the tabloids. I had to get creative to cover for him." Kara decided to just nod and let it go.

"Anyway," Iris continued, "Barry said he wouldn't be too long, so we could just stroll around downtown for a while until he's done?"

"Sounds good," Kara agreed.

…

As they were walking down the street, Kara's phone buzzed. It was Alex.

"Hey, what's up?" she said into her phone, glancing at Winn in a silent request to run interference for her with Iris and Felicity. Winn nodded and started chatting with the two girls as Kara hung back.

"We're getting reports from local news and social media that there's an abnormal sighting in Central City," Alex said. "Looks like a Fort Rozz escapee."

"What? Here?" Kara asked, confused.

"Yeah," Alex confirmed. "We don't think there's any connection to you being there. Just a wrong place, wrong time sort of thing."

"Okay," Kara said. "Where am I heading?"

"Last known sighting was by the river. We're scrambling a team, but obviously we're too far away to help yet."

"Got it. I'll call back when I have him." Kara hung up and walked up to her three friends.

"Hey, Winn," she said, giving an innocuous smile while gripping Winn's shoulder with just a tad too much strength to let him know something was wrong. "Could you lend me the key to your place? I left something there that I need."

"Ow," Winn winced, reacting to Kara's grip. "Er, I mean, sure! Go ahead," he said, handing his key over.

"What did you leave? We'll come with you," Felicity said.

"No!" Kara said entirely too quickly, causing Iris and Felicity to stare. "I mean, no that's fine. You three go ahead. I'll catch up," she finished, again signaling to Winn for help.

"Yeah," Winn said, taking both girls by the arm and steering them away before they had a chance to object. "Besides, there's something I've been meaning to ask you two. Isn't it weird how Barry seems to always get the cases where the Flash is involved?"

As Kara walked quickly out of sight, her superhearing caught Felicity stammering and a rather sudden attempt by Iris to change the subject. _Huh, that's weird_ , she thought. She couldn't devote much time to think about it, however, as she sped through back alleys towards Winn's apartment a few blocks away, where her suit was.

…

Turns out, she needn't have hurried.

By the time she had flown out and found the alien, a Hellgrammite (basically a super strong bug that can disguise itself as a humanoid), the Flash had already taken care of him.

She grinned as the red-costumed hero caught sight of her. "We gotta stop meeting like this."

The Flash grinned back. "Howdy stranger. What brings you to these parts?" he asked, adopting a corny, old western accent.

"Oh, you know, just looking for some good huntin'," she replied, in the same corny accent, causing them both to crack up. "Seriously, though," she continued, "anything I can do to help?"

"No, I think I've got it," he reassured her. "Although I don't know what I'm dealing with here. I've never seen a meta that could turn into a giant bug."

"He's actually an alien," Kara said. When he shot her a confused look, she gave him an abbreviated explanation of the Fort Rozz situation.

"Huh," was all the Flash said.

"You're taking the news of an alien prison break rather well," Kara remarked.

The Flash looked down at himself. "I think I'm living proof that I shouldn't be surprised by this stuff anymore."

"Fair enough," Kara said. She continued, "I can take him if you want. We've got a prison near National City where we can hold him."

"There's actually a prison outside Central City we can use for now. Or," he corrected, "I guess it's more of a pipeline. Anyway, I'm not sure flying a violent alien over half a country of civilians is the greatest idea."

"Good call," Kara said. "Once we get a team and equipment put together to extract him, I'll let you know."

"Sounds good. Thanks," he replied. He picked up the unconscious alien and prepared to speed off, but he turned around first to look at her again, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Hey, what _are_ you doing here? CCPD only got a report on this guy's location maybe twenty, twenty-five minutes ago."

 _Crap_ , Kara thought. She didn't want to make it public that she had left the city she was supposed to protect simply to visit some friends and relax a little. "We knew the Hellgrammite was on the loose," she invented quickly. "I came to Central City to find him."

"How'd you know he'd be in Central City?"

"Um, lucky guess?" she said, weakly.

Flash stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged. "You know what? That's none of my business. In any case, just let me or CCPD know when your team is ready to get this guy," he said, indicating his unconscious prisoner.

"You bet."

"And Supergirl?"

"Hmmm?"

Flash gave a little half-smile. "You're a terrible liar." And with that, he sped off.

Kara sighed. She couldn't argue with that.


	5. Partners?

_Thwack. Thwack thwack. Thwack thwack thwack._

"Come on, Barry, rotate your hips more when you punch," Eddie instructed, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Barry rolled his eyes, then repeated his jab, jab/cross, jab/cross/hook combination on the punching back that Eddie was holding steady. The bag barely moved, and he dropped his fists in frustration. "This is such a waste of time," Barry complained.

"If I don't make you stronger and teach you how to fight the right way, without your powers, Iris will kill me," Eddie replied. "Again."

After getting no fewer than four separate lectures from Eddie, Joe, Iris, and even Oliver about relying too much on his powers to beat bad guys, Barry was reluctantly convinced to train with Eddie in conventional hand-to-hand fighting. He was now getting a thorough lesson in the importance of stance and hip rotation and was thoroughly bored by it. Would any of this matter in the grand scheme of things, when Barry's superspeed already gave him an unparalleled advantage? He wasn't convinced, but he knew if even _Oliver_ wanted him to do this, Felicity was probably next in line for nagging duties, so he went with the path of lesser resistance.

After another combination, Eddie said, "Better. Pivot more on your back foot, though."

Barry obliged, briefly redirecting his attention to the task at hand, but soon he couldn't help himself. "You know, I've been doing pretty well so far with just my powers."

"The key words in that sentence are 'so far,'" Eddie pointed out. "Your powers are the same as any other talent. They'll–"

"They'll only take me so far unless I put in the work to complement them," Barry interrupted in a droning voice. "You, Iris, and Joe coordinated your speeches. I get it."

"Good," Eddie smiled. "Now again."

Barry sighed, then brought his fists back up and resumed hitting the pad. "If nothing else," Eddie continued, "getting stronger will help you keep up with Supergirl."

Barry laughed. "I don't think I'll be carrying huge tanks through the air anytime soon."

…

 _Barry pulled the last firefighter out of the flaming woods. This kind of fire was unpredictable, and so he did his best to keep the winds generated by his running to a minimum to avoid spreading the flames further._

 _"It's growing too fast!" the firefighter yelled into his ear. "We need to evacuate the surrounding towns!"_

 _"Don't worry, we've got it!" Barry yelled back._

 _"What–?" Before she could finish, however, Barry pointed up, drawing her attention to a giant tank that seemed to be floating in air by itself. As it passed overhead, they could see a tiny red-and-blue speck carrying the tank towards the center of the blaze._

 _"Superman?" the firefighter asked._

 _"Supergirl," Barry replied, making sure to emphasize "girl." They stood a safe distance from the fire and watched as Supergirl tipped over the tank and poured fire retardant over the flames, immediately dousing a powerful section of the blaze. When the tank was empty, Supergirl turned around and headed back the way she had come, flying down low enough to give them a thumbs-up before speeding off to get another tank._

 _"Well, that's one way to do it," the firefighter said._

 _Barry chuckled. "She'll take care of the fire. I'll make sure no one else is in immediate danger. You coordinate the evacuations." With that, Barry sped off._

...

 _Bang. Bang bang. BANG._

"I feel like there should be an easier way for you to train," James remarked.

Kara shrugged skeptically. "Show me a punching bag I can let loose on, and maybe I'll believe you."

She had convinced James to keep her company as she worked on her fighting form, as she was getting fed up with Alex constantly nagging her to stop relying solely on her strength. Kara didn't fancy getting tossed around a kryptonite-emitting room by her sister today, so instead she found an abandoned warehouse and strung up an old car on some chains to serve as her punching bag. James trained nearby on an actual punching bag.

"Well, I'd hold the car steady for you, but I don't want engine parts flying at my face, so I'll just continue with the moral support," he quipped, finishing with a jab/cross combination on his pad.

Kara laughed. "Thanks. I need the company." She threw another round of strikes into the hood of the car, producing new dents and craters. She really wasn't convinced this training would make a huge difference, considering that she had both enhanced speed and enhanced strength, but it was the only way to get Alex off her back. "Also, I need a witness," Kara continued. "You can tell my sister you physically saw me training."

James laughed. "Will do," he said. After they practiced a few more punches, James asked, jokingly, "Think you'll take up cardio training, too? Try to catch the Flash?"

Kara laughed. "Oh no. Stopping tornadoes is where I draw the line."

…

 _Kara was splitting duty between catching flying debris and carrying people to safety, but the strong winds of the storm was making flight control a bit difficult. The three twisters slowly making their way to the town were also putting everyone into a panic, making her feel like she was herding cats._

 _She landed next to a police officer directing traffic out of the city, tossing the empty car that one of the twisters had thrown into the air into a nearby ditch. "There's too many people!" he yelled. "We can't get everyone out in time!"_

 _"Keep directing people out!" Kara yelled back. "We'll try to slow them down!"_

 _"Who's 'we'?"_

 _Before she could answer, a red and yellow streak blazed past both of them and headed straight for the twisters. It made a beeline for the closest one and started rotating around it._

 _"The Flash?"_

 _"Yeah," Kara replied. "He's going to try to dissipate the twister's energy by running in the opposite direction!"_

 _"I'm not sure that even makes sense," the officer said incredulously._

 _"We have a man who runs faster than sound and a girl who can fly. We're way past 'sense,'" Kara countered. "Just get everyone out!"_

 _Kara launched back into the air and aimed herself at more flying debris, catching what she could and knocking away everything else she couldn't. It was hard work, but the reward came when she glanced back to check the twisters' progress and realized one of them had disappeared. The Flash had successfully neutralized one of them and was now working on the second one. The sight heartened her, and she redoubled her efforts battling the winds and keeping the town safe, and soon the twisters were gone and the storm, while still hitting them with heavy rain and wind, now posed no catastrophic danger._

 _She flew around until she spotted the Flash standing on the ground, bent over with his hands on his knees. Kara landed next to him and realized that he was trying to catch his breath._

 _"I'm impressed," Kara said. She meant it._

 _"Thanks." The Flash gave a short laugh bracketed by more wheezing. "After…the world…stops…spinning…I'll go check…on the town."_

 _"Don't worry about it," Kara reassured him. "I'll make sure everything's okay. You've done a lot."_

 _Flash gave her a smile as he straightened up. "You know," he said, still a little breathlessly, "having superhero friends is kind of awesome. Now I get to slack off."_

 _Kara laughed. "Just be sure to return the favor sometime." With that, she jumped back into the air and headed towards the town._

…

"By the way, how're things going with your new lady friend?"

Eddie's little tease was enough to stop Barry punching and split his face into a wide grin. "Great," he said. "She's really amazing. Funny, smart, _and_ she watches Game of Thrones!"

"Sounds like a winner," Eddie laughed. "But I'm surprised you two are giving this a shot. Half a country separates the two of you."

"Yeah, but she said she travels a lot for work anyway, and I made up a story about how I like riding trains," Barry returned. Adding with a smirk, "Besides, it's not like distance is _actually_ a problem for me."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're fast," Eddie replied, rolling his eyes. "Sometimes I wish Iris had never told me about you. It'd make life less complicated."

Barry shrugged. "She's my best friend. It didn't take her long to figure it out, and since you," he said, pointing a glove at Eddie, "have joined the club of 'most important people in her life,' you now also have to deal with all of the crazies in her life."

"Huzzah," Eddie said sarcastically. "Well, just don't forget to take your suit off before buying flowers for Kara."

"Actually, she prefers ice cream."

…

 _"Top three favorite flavors: Go."_

 _"Mint chocolate chip, mango, rocky road. Now you."_

 _"Cookies and cream, strawberry, coffee."_

 _"Ah, too bad," Kara sighed dramatically. "We clearly have nothing in common whatsoever."_

 _Barry laughed as they stood together in line. "Sometimes people just have to agree to disagree."_

 _"Or we could just order all of them."_

 _"That is too much sugar for any one person."_

 _"Is that a challenge?"_

…

"How did this thing with Barry start, anyway?" James asked.

Kara paused in her punching and shrugged. "He asked me out on a date," she said. "I had mentioned earlier that I traveled a lot for Ms. Grant because it was the only way I could explain always being in Central City to visit Winn. I guess he took that as an opening."

James noticed that Kara was grinning as she said this. "He took an opening, or you gave him an opening?"

"What? No," Kara said quickly. "I mean…oh, I don't know what I mean."

James chuckled. "Hey, it doesn't matter anyway. You like him, and he clearly likes you. What could go wrong?"

"Setting aside the obvious Supergirl issue, there's the fact that we're in two completely different cities."

"Well, yeah," James admitted. "But hey, if Barry makes you happy, that's all anyone should have to know."

"Thanks, James," Kara said. "It helps that Barry likes taking the train, so hopefully we'll be able to make this work. For now, though, I think we're just enjoying each other's company, so we'll see where it goes."

"Just remember to put your glasses back on before getting drinks or seeing a movie."

"Yeah. Or pizza. He really loves pizza."

…

 _Kara stared as Barry inhaled yet another slice. No human she had met until now could keep up with her in food consumption, but Barry was giving her a serious run for her money._

 _Barry looked up from the meager remnants of his pepperoni, olive, and jalape_ _ño pizza in some embarrassment. "Sorry. Do I look like a pig?"_

 _Kara raised an eyebrow and leaned sideways so she could get a better look at Barry's body across her kitchen table. It wasn't that he didn't have muscle on his frame, but he was definitely on the lanky side. "Yeah, a super skinny pig. Where do you put it all?"_

 _Barry shrugged, still a little self-conscious. "I've been…jogging."_

 _"Okay, then," Kara laughed. "Well, I'm glad. My sister always makes fun of me for how much I eat, but now I have someone else I can point to."_

 _"Oh. Well, in that case, happy to be of service," Barry smiled, grabbing yet another slice._


	6. A hero in his midst

She was dressed in black ankle boots, fitted blue jeans, and a flowy black blouse. Her long hair was partially pinned back, and she was fidgeting with the little puppy charm on a plain gold necklace around her neck. Needless to say, Barry had been distracted all night by how beautiful Kara looked, but the latest bit of personal information was enough to knock his attention askew.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"A popcorn maker," Barry said slowly, as if doing so would make the meaning of the words clearer. "You think one of the most annoying things in the world is a popcorn maker."

"Don't judge me!" Kara laughed. "I got freaked out by the sounds it made when I was young and I just never got over it."

Barry laughed and shook his head. "I don't even know what to say."

"Well, now you know the deep dark secret of Kara Danvers: a movie snack machine," Kara joked.

They were sitting at the bar of a restaurant in National City, talking over drinks after having dinner together. As it happened, the exploits of Supergirl and the Flash had brought Central City and National City into collaboration with each other, and with that came cooperation between STAR Labs and the DEO, which had been forced to publicly reveal its existence in order to address the Fort Rozz prison break. Barry, as it turned out, had become an integral part of this multi-city, multi-department partnership.

"You know, I thought I'd be the one doing the heavy traveling here," Kara remarked after a pause, wagging a finger between herself and Barry. "Is this new work of yours going to be long term?"

"I think so," Barry replied. "With both Supergirl and the Flash bringing in so many powered individuals, alien and metahuman, there's been a need for a new confinement system. We can't just bury people underground or in a prison no one knows about." Upon saying that, Barry saw Kara shift a little uncomfortably. "What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," Kara replied quickly. "You're right, of course. It's just…these people _are_ dangerous. If Supergirl…or I mean, if anyone _did_ feel like the only way to keep everyone safe was to drop these powered people in a deep dark hole, I wouldn't blame them."

"I know what you mean," Barry nodded. He thought about the metahumans he had once speeded into the containment cells in the STAR Labs pipeline as the Flash and how he couldn't see another option for such dangerous people at the time. At least now, he had an alternative. "I won't speak for how the Flash or Supergirl has been dealing with criminals before, but now NCPD and CCPD are committed to honoring the rights of these criminals."

"That's good. STAR Labs and the DEO have some new tech that they're going to use, right?"

"Yep," Barry confirmed. "The DEO is adapting technology from Fort Rozz to develop secure prisons and restraints, using analysis from STAR Labs on the criminals' unique abilities to tailor their equipment."

"That's awesome! And you're coordinating all this?"

"Oh no, no," Barry answered, waving his hands in front of him. "No, I'm just the go-between. I'm already the liaison between CCPD and STAR Labs, and it just made sense for me to be the go-between with National City as well. We're all fighting the same fight, after all."

"Got it," Kara nodded. They were silent for a moment, and then Kara smiled. "Well, I guess I won't have to do all the work in our relationship, after all."

"Hey! I was going to come see you regularly even if I didn't have this job."

"True. And now that you can come to National City for official reasons, you won't get yelled at by your captain for taking time off to see me."

"Don't underestimate Captain Singh. He'll find other reasons to yell at me."

Kara laughed, then leaned close to Barry's face. "Well, I'm glad I'll be spending more time with you."

"Me too," Barry smiled back, before leaning in as well. Their soft, lingering kiss was, of course, unfortunately interrupted when Kara's phone vibrated in her pocket.

"Sorry," Kara muttered, pulling away so she could check the message. Whatever it said, it was clearly concerning, as Kara's expression immediately darkened in annoyance and disappointment.

"Everything okay?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, it's fine, but um, I have to go," Kara said in a rush.

"Right now?"

"Yeah," Kara sighed, hurriedly gathering up her things. "I'm sorry, I really want to stay, but my sister needs me. Sort of, er, a family emergency…" Kara trailed off, clearly reluctant to provide specifics.

"Anything I can help with?"

"No, no, it's okay, I got it. I just have to go."

"Oh, okay," Barry said, disappointed as well. "Hope everything's okay."

"Me too. I'm _so_ sorry. I'll–oops," Kara said, as she turned around directly into the path of an approaching waiter. They both swerved to avoid each other, but the waiter's elbow caught slightly on Kara's glasses, briefly knocking them down her face. The waiter turned to apologize, but Kara was already rushing off. "Excuse me," she muttered over her shoulder before scurrying off, adjusting her glasses as she left.

As the nonplussed waiter walked away, Barry watched Kara leave with eyes wide, trying to decide if what he had seen was real. For the smallest of seconds, Barry had seen Kara without her glasses on, and he could have _sworn_ she looked just like…no. No way. Could it be?

As the Flash, he had certainly worked with Supergirl often enough to know what she looked like, and now that the idea was planted in his head, Kara _did_ have way more than just a passing resemblance to the Girl of Steel.

No, this was silly. Okay, so he may not be the one to talk about keeping a secret identity, but he can't go around assigning everyone he meets a superhero persona. His imagination was just going wild.

His mind continued to wrestle with the idea for a few minutes, and just when Barry had convinced himself he was seeing things, the televisions behind the bar began broadcasting breaking news: a major fire had erupted in the financial district of National City. Barry almost got up to go help, but soon the cameras showed Supergirl arriving on the scene, using her freeze breath to get the flames under control before beginning to fly people out of the burned building.

He watched for a while, a bit relieved that he could take the night off while another superhero handled the problem, when a camera zoomed in on Supergirl carrying a person down to safety in her arms, the angle allowing a clear shot of Supergirl's face and neck.

There, clear as day, was a plain gold necklace around her neck, with a little puppy charm hanging in the center. Perhaps the necklace itself wasn't that conspicuous, except Barry had teamed with Supergirl numerous times and had never seen her wear any sort of jewelry. This time, it was like she had been in a rush and forgotten she was wearing it…

 _Okay_ , Barry thought numbly. _I'm dating an alien_.


	7. If anyone can win this city back

Her cape and boots were tossed carelessly onto the floor, and she had slipped baggy jeans and an unbuttoned shirt over her suit. Barry could still see the "S" emblem on her chest when she sat up from her couch and stared at him. Her glasses were nowhere in sight.

"How did you get in here?"

Barry's heart broke as he saw the calmness of her question betrayed by the redness in her eyes, the anger, pain, and guilt in her face. "Your window was open," he replied softly, tilting his head towards her apartment's spacious view. "I can run up walls, you know."

Kara blinked. "What…why are you–"

"It's not your fault."

She closed her eyes, turned her head away, and slumped back against her couch, obviously trying to hold back tears. When she opened them again, one spilled out anyway. "What do you know, Flash?" she asked quietly, still with her head turned away.

"I know you apologized to the city. You told everyone you were poisoned, that there was a substance affecting your judgment. I believe you."

"It was still me underneath. Everything I said. Everything I did. The _fear_ I inspired in this city…that was real."

"Maybe," Barry acknowledged as he walked over to her kitchen table and sat down, carefully maintaining his distance, "but the hope you inspired in this city before that? That was real too, and it will be again." Kara couldn't, or wouldn't, respond to his encouragement, however, so he tried a different tack. "Will you tell me what happened?" he asked gently.

Kara turned her head back to look at him, and Barry could see reluctance in her eyes. He leaned forward on his knees, hands clasped and giving her his full attention. "I'd like to hear it from you myself."

Kara looked down at her hands, and slowly, softly, she explained everything to him. How Maxwell Lord has synthesized kryptonite, a red version instead of green. How, instead of weakening her, it had inflamed her worst feelings and whims. How she had thrown Cat Grant off a roof (but catching her before she hit the ground, thank goodness), caused wanton destruction throughout the city, and terrified the people she had committed to protect. Through it all, Barry simply sat and listened.

Once or twice, he caught Kara glancing furtively in his direction, as if she were afraid he would judge her and recoil from the things that she had done. The fact that he didn't seemed to give her the courage to pour out every last crippling thought of regret and fear, and when she was done, she let out a small breath.

"I'm so sorry," Barry told her, after a pause. "No one should have to experience something like that." She didn't reply. "Still, this _wasn't_ your fault, and you _will_ get the city's trust back."

"How?" Kara demanded. "How will I ever get that back? In one night, I showed what could happen if I ever used my powers against them. How can anyone trust me again?"

"Give it time," Barry urged. "Keep showing your dedication to National City. You're a hero, Supergirl. I know it, and everyone in this city knows it too. They'll remember."

Kara sighed. "Just stop it, Flash," she said, lowering her head and pressing her hands to her temples. "I don't deserve your sympathy or your support. This isn't something I can just take back."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Barry insisted. "You're not responsible for this. If you had the power to stop yourself, you would have. You're a good person, and _this was not your fault_ ," Barry finished, heavily emphasizing each of the last five words.

Barry became aware that he was starting to repeat himself, and apparently so did Kara, who scoffed in annoyance. "What do you know? Just because we've teamed up sometimes you think you can speak for me? You _don't_ know how this feels!" she spat, a couple more tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily and glared at him. "Although apparently you know where I live, which by the way, is incredibly creepy. I've never shown you my place."

"No," Barry acknowledged. "You've never shown the Flash where you live…Kara." At the sound of her name, Kara's eyes widened, but then she let out a bitter laugh.

"So, is this how superhero 'friends' treat each other? You find out where I live, and then you invade my privacy, digging up the name on the lease?"

"No," Barry sighed, deciding the game was up, "and not exactly." He reached up under the eyepieces of his mask and pulled up, revealing his face. "You invited me over for pizza."

Silence. And then, in a shocked whisper, "Barry? You're… _him_?"

Barry nodded. "Remember the date you ran out on? When a building caught fire in the financial district? You bumped into someone on your way out and your glasses slipped down. You and I've worked together enough times for me to remember what Supergirl looks like." He laughed softly to himself. "I'm embarrassed I didn't notice sooner. I should've realized there was someone special hiding in plain sight."

He got up from where he sat at her kitchen table and joined her on the couch, taking her limp hand in both of his, as she seemed to still be in shock. Looking into her eyes, he continued, "I know the type of person you are, Kara Danvers. You're funny and you're loyal and you have an unhealthy obsession with potstickers and ice cream." A tiny eye roll. _Progress_ , Barry thought.

"Most importantly, you would do absolutely anything to help people who need help. Hurting others for fun? Causing panic and destruction? That's just not who you are. That person was _not_ you."

Kara squeezed Barry's hand but lowered her eyes down to her lap. "I don't know if I can ever make up for what I did."

"It'll be hard," Barry admitted. "It'll take time. But all you can do right now is to keep helping where you're needed. You proved you were devoted to this city once before. You'll do it again."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, a little desperately.

"Because I _do_ know what you're going through." When Kara looked at him in confusion, he explained. "I fought a meta called 'Rainbow Raider.' Don't ask," he said, shaking his head when Kara gave him a look that said _Really? "Rainbow Raider"?_ "Anyway, his ability was to amplify people's feelings of rage and arrogance, making them act on their worst thoughts and impulses."

"That's exactly what happened to me," Kara breathed, surprised at how similar Barry's experience sounded. "How come I never heard about this?"

Barry winced. "You would have, except it was around the same time National City got hit with that huge earthquake. I guess your newspapers didn't pick up the story. Plus," he added, slightly ashamed and with his head lowered, "as the Flash, I wasn't about to admit to _Supergirl_ that I'd hurt innocent people."

"Badly hurt?" Kara asked gently.

Barry tilted his head from side to side, considering. "Physically, no, but I acted out of rage in full view of the city. I didn't redeem myself in their eyes for a long time, but the point is, I _did_ manage it in the end. If I can get Central City's trust back, you can get National City's back."

Kara had gone back to staring at her lap, a small frown of misery still on her face. "But, in the meantime," he added, gently putting a hand under her chin to raise her eyes to his, "you'll always have my trust. The Flash's, and Barry Allen's."

Kara smiled through her tears and leaned into him slowly, kissing him gently. She was still smiling when she pulled back, and in spite of the pain he knew she was still feeling, Barry knew she was more hopeful now, which was worth more to him than he could ever say.

"You know," she whispered shakily, "you're very lucky I didn't just blast you when you ran in here uninvited."

"Yeah. I hadn't really thought it through." A small chuckle. "But you're worth the risk."

Her smile grew, ever so slightly. "Thank you…Flash."

"You're welcome, Supergirl."


	8. Someone that I can be myself with

_At CC Jitters_

"Um, Barry? Why is Cisco staring at me?"

"Don't mind him. He really likes girl superheroes, that's all."

"Way to make me sound creepy, Barry," Cisco muttered, glaring at him. He turned back to Kara. "Sorry, I'm just a really huge fan of you," he gushed, gesturing with his hands like he wanted to squish her face just to check that she was real.

"Aw, well thank you," Kara smiled. "Although, shouldn't you be a bigger fan of Barry's? He does protect _your_ city." Barry lifted his hands in the air and looked at her with gratitude, saying with his eyes _Thank you!_ Cisco, however, apparently wasn't having any of it.

"Yeah, yeah, Scarlet Speedster, hero of Central City, blah, blah, blah," Cisco drawled, waving his hand dismissively, although Kara could tell he was doing it mainly to wind Barry up and not out of any real disrespect. "Another dude saving a city. We have a ton of those already, but how many chicks do we have saving cities?"

"There are a few out there…" Kara began, but she trailed off as Cisco held up his index finger in her face. He then began ticking names off with his fingers.

"Superman: alien dude. Green Arrow: grumpy dude. Atom: super smart dude. Firestorm: two dudes. Hawkman: reincarnated dude. Flash: fast dude. Arsenal. Martian Manhunter. Constantine. Dudes. Freaking. Everywhere."

"We've got a couple out there too," Kara argued back. "There's Vixen in Detroit, and Speedy works with Green Arrow, and…uh…"

Cisco smacked the table in victory and pointed at her. "Aha! See? There're barely a handful of women heroes out there. We need more people like you, girl!" Kara and Barry burst out laughing, but Cisco remained deadly serious. "Come on, I'm not joking!"

"I know, Cisco," Kara assured him, patting his arm. "On behalf of all female superheroes, I appreciate your support," she finished, barely holding in more laughter.

Cisco glared her as she continued to smile _too_ innocently at him, but then he just huffed in exasperation, seemingly resigned to the fact that Kara would be joining Barry and his other friends in making fun of his enthusiasm. In any case, Cisco apparently had more on his mind.

"By the way, any chance I could take a look at your supersuit? Watching you fight crime on TV, I just see so many problems I could fix."

Kara stared at him, unable to tell if Cisco was joking. Barry's facepalm seemed to suggest he was not.

…

 _At Kara's apartment_

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

Kara hung up her phone and turned to Barry, who was mid-chop at the kitchen counter, a pile of carrots in front of him. "That was Alex," she explained. "Another Fort Rozz escapee is tearing up downtown."

Barry put down the knife. "Okay, let's go."

Kara groaned. " _Why_ do they have to attack when we're cooking? Dinner's going to be so late now!"

"Well, you could always zap the pot roast with your heat vision."

"That could ruin it. I'm not an oven, Barry!"

Barry smiled cheekily. "I don't know. You are pretty hot."

Kara closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, though her feelings of frustration were betrayed by a tiny smile on her face. She walked over to Barry and patted his cheek. "You're lucky you're adorable."

"It _is_ one of my best qualities," Barry agreed, still smiling at her in the way that made her just a little crazy. A split second later, she was blinded as yellow lightning blazed in front of her face. A banging at her window told her Barry had already changed into his suit and run down the wall of her apartment building. Shaking her head, she used her own speed to change and flew out the window towards downtown. A streak below told her Barry was right there with her.

…

 _At Club Apocalypse_

Barry's breath hitched in his chest when he spotted Kara making her way toward him. Gone were the colorful cardigans and sunny skirts, replaced by a sexy little black dress that hugged her figure while showing off her lithe but toned muscles. Even her walk had become more confident and alluring.

"Hey," Kara said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Barry shook his head and realized that she had walked right up to him without his brain registering. She smirked as he continued to look dazed and pointed at her own face with two fingers. "Eyes up here."

Barry's head immediately snapped up to attention and his eyes widened slightly at the fear that he had just been ungentlemanly, but his reaction just caused Kara to burst out laughing. Her nose scrunched up in that cute way that made Barry smile as she nudged him. "Come on, Barry, I'm just teasing you."

Barry shook his head in defeat as he got up from his bar stool and put his hands at her waist, pulling her close enough to say into her ear, "You look gorgeous."

Kara turned her head to him and kissed him in response. Pulling back, she smiled as she took him in as well. "You clean up pretty well yourself," she said, fussing with the collar of his black dress shirt. Barry chuckled and reached up to his collar as well, taking her hands in his own.

"Wanna dance, Ms. Danvers?"

"Lead the way, Mr. Allen."

As Barry led Kara by the hand onto the dance floor, Cisco and Caitlin watched them from the bar, amused that they had been completely ignored once Barry and Kara had seen each other. "How long do you think before something attacks the city and they have to run off again?" Caitlin asked Cisco.

"I give it ten minutes. You?"

Caitlin tilted her head. "Call me a hopeless romantic, but I want to see them have a little fun as just a normal couple." She paused slightly, then said, "Twenty minutes."

"Loser buys coffee for STAR Labs on Monday."

"Deal."

…

 _Around some abandoned warehouses_

"Flash, this is no time to be a gentleman!"

"But she's a girl!"

Kara huffed in exasperation as she and Barry continued, in vain, to chase down Shawna Baez, aka "Peek-a-Boo." (Kara was coming around to the general consensus that Cisco, not Caitlin, should be picking the names.)

Peek-a-Boo had quickly established herself as a master thief, stealing whatever she wanted in the blink of an eye before disappearing, and it was only recently that she and Barry had discovered she was a metahuman with the ability to teleport herself. Supposedly her weakness was that she could "only" transport to places within her line of sight, but as they were fighting her in broad daylight, that wasn't really working to their advantage.

"Come on, superfriends," Baez taunted, clearly having fun watching the two heroes struggle to keep up. "That the best you got?"

Kara and Barry had enhanced speed on their side, but Baez could instantly teleport to any place she could see just by _looking_ at it, and she was taking advantage by moving from spot to spot randomly, only staying still long enough to land a shot before teleporting somewhere else.

"Boo!" Baez shouted, materializing behind Barry and grabbing him under the arms. She then teleported thirty feet off the ground, let go, and teleported back to the ground to watch him fall.

Oh yeah, she could also teleport _other_ people if she was touching them.

For the third time, Kara flew up to catch Barry and set him on his feet, but her annoyance with him was actually growing because he wasn't throwing any punches or doing anything to physically hurt the meta currently beating down on them.

"Flash, if we don't stop her, she's just going to keep robbing more people!"

"I know, but there's got to be a way to do it without hurting her!"

"Chivalry has its time and place! Neither applies here!"

"We don't always have to use violence!"

"We can't always play with kid gloves!"

"But–"

A loud whistle interrupted their bickering. They looked up to see Baez standing on a rooftop, arms crossed and a look of amusement on her face.

"Are you two married or something?" she asked. "Sheesh, it's almost more fun watching you two fight than it is embarrassing you." As she spoke, she teleported right in between Kara and Barry, clocked Kara in the face with a metal pipe she had grabbed from somewhere, and disappeared again. Both of them knew Baez could have easily escaped long ago, but she had a point. She _was_ embarrassing them.

Kara looked around in frustration and saw that Baez had materialized atop a pile of discarded lumber, releasing a puff of sawdust that was kicked up under Baez's feet. The three of them had been fighting in an abandoned construction area near some run-down warehouses, and only now did Kara realize how she and Barry could finally use that to their advantage.

"Okay," she muttered, crouching down. "New plan. Get ready to run in circles," she told Barry.

"Why?" Barry asked, but Kara had already shot into the air. Baez seemed to think Kara was going to try to outmaneuver her from the air, so she began teleporting even more randomly, but Kara simply flew higher to keep Baez within her field of view before filling her lungs and blasting her super breath straight downwards.

The force of air from her lungs kicked up all the dust, sand, and other loose debris left over from the construction into the air, and Baez's arrogance in staying in the same general area to taunt them meant that she was caught in the blast as well. Barry, catching onto Kara's strategy, began running in a wide but fast circle around Baez, swirling all the debris into an opaque storm that Baez couldn't see through, negating her powers.

Kara's superhearing registered a scream of frustration somewhere in the center of the cloud Barry was kicking up, and she used that to zero in on Baez's position and punch her unconscious.

Moments later, the dust and debris was cleared by Barry rotating his arms in a propeller-like fashion, and soon the two of them were standing over their, finally, subdued opponent.

"Next time," Barry said, "I'll let you lead in dealing with girl baddies."

Kara nodded, too winded from her super breath to respond.


	9. It was a team effort

"Proximity alert's been tripped. Get ready," Felicity warned over their radios.

"Got it," Barry replied. "Everyone in position?"

He received various murmurs and grunts of acknowledgement. Looking to his left and right, he wished he could enjoy the spectacle he was a part of under different circumstances.

A defensive ring had formed around STAR Labs. Kara was several meters to his right, Oliver the same to his left. Spanning in either direction all around the main building were vigilantes, powered humans, and aliens all determined to defend the building in which Ray, Felicity, Cisco, and Winn were furiously working. Every connection had been exploited and every favor called in, and reinforcements came from Starling, Metropolis and National City, from Pittsburgh and Detroit, from St. Roch and Hub City, and from even further away. Astonishingly, some of Central City's criminals had joined the cause as well, if only because the impending robot apocalypse was going to put a serious cramp in their thieving.

"Does anyone have eyes on the suits?" Oliver muttered into his radio.

Silence. Then Sara's voice called in, "I see them."

"I see them too," Kendra agreed.

"Here as well, mate," Constantine chimed in.

"Great," Barry sighed. He could also see them. What was concerning was that he, Sara, Kendra, and Constantine were all stationed at different spots. The suits were coming from all directions.

"Winn," Kara muttered, "please hurry."

"We're trying, we're trying!" came Winn's reply.

"It's weird to think my suits are the harbinger of evil now," Ray added, in a tone entirely too conversational given the dire circumstances.

"Yeah, we'll kick your butt for that later. Work!" Cisco insisted.

"Krypton's enemies certainly think big," J'onn muttered.

"Indigo never did know how to scale things down," Clark agreed.

The latest Fort Rozz escapee, Indigo, had apparently been taking a more patient approach in the typical supervillian pursuit of world domination. After the energies from the particle accelerator explosion had allowed her to break out of prison, she had lain low, putting together an elaborate scheme that involved hacking Palmer Technologies, stealing Ray's designs, and secretly mass producing A.T.O.M. suits that were all under her control.

"I guess we should be flattered Indigo's paying us so much attention," Thea said sarcastically.

It was true. Indigo had wormed her way into and disabled most of the nation's major military installations, but she hadn't thought to sabotage STAR Labs, which was technically more research than military in nature. Cisco and Felicity were thus able to hastily throw up firewalls and safeguards using information that Clark, Kara, and the DEO provided on Indigo's abilities and, along with Ray and Winn, were now using STAR Labs as a base from which to shut her down. Unfortunately, this effort did not go unnoticed as Indigo now seemed to be throwing everything she had at them.

"You're sure these suits can't shrink?" Carter asked, as the mass of armor rapidly approached via land and air.

"Positive. I kept that feature out of the servers at Palmer Tech because I was afraid of…well, having my ideas stolen," Ray finished, meekly.

"Smart thinking," Roy said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, that's still a good thing! Now all you guys have to worry about are their energy blasters. And their enhanced strength. And…their flight capabilities."

"Peachy," Leonard chipped in sardonically, the suits closing in. "Remind my fist to thank your face later."

"I second that," Mick growled. Then the suits were upon them.

…

At first, the heroes had things mostly under control. The drones seemed to be standard red-and-blue models based directly off of Ray's suit, and the defenders had luckily managed to review his schematics beforehand, so they knew the general areas to target for maximum effect. It also helped that they had two Kryptonians on their side.

Kara continued strafing her side of STAR Labs with her heat vision while hovering in midair, cutting down suits on the ground and blasting them out of the air. Behind her, Clark was doing the same on the opposite side. Inevitably they missed a few, but the rest of the defensive line was handily dealing with those. Soon, there was a pile of scrap metal ringing the lab, and the defenders were relatively unscathed.

"That can't be it," Mari said. "Way too easy."

Sure enough, a second wave of suits soon appeared, approaching fast. Dotted among the red-and-blue suits, however, were slightly different models, colored completely black.

"Uh, Ray?" Kara spoke into her communicator. "Do you recognize those black suits?"

"No, I don't," Ray responded. "Indigo must have made some of her own upgrades."

"Any idea what those upgrades are?"

"Nothing good."

"Gee thanks, Captain Obvious," Kara muttered. "Superman, you see those black drones?"

"I do," he replied. "We should try to take them out before they get too close."

"Agreed," Oliver chimed in. "You two try your heat vision. Everyone on the ground with guns or arrows, back them up."

The suits were within range to take a shot, so Kara narrowed her eyes at the nearest black suit and fired. To her dismay, her heat vision seemed to dissipate off the suit's armor. Apparently, the black drones were designed with some sort of heat ablation. Clark reported the same results.

Following that discovery, arrows flew into the air and energy streams of fire and ice were shot at the suits, but their maneuverability was significantly more advanced than that of the red-and-blue suits, causing all the projectiles to miss.

"Those things are good," Barry muttered.

"Okay, guess we'll have to deal with them the old-fashioned way," Kara concluded. "Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, keep the air secure while Superman and I engage the black drones."

"Copy that."

With that, Kara angled herself parallel to the ground and flew at top speed towards the nearest black drone, planning to smash through it and move on to the next one. She received quite a shock when, instead, the suit caught her in midair and brought her to a dead stop, a wrist clenched in the suit's fist. She received a second shock when the suit started talking to her.

"Surprised, Supergirl?" A feminine voice taunted her through an audio speaker embedded somewhere in the suit.

"Indigo," Kara growled.

"Very good," Indigo replied through the speaker. "I'll get right to the point. Get out of my way and _maybe_ I'll let you live long enough to see your adoptive planet fall under my rule."

"Tempting, but no thanks," Kara spat back.

"Fine, have it your way," Indigo sighed. "Just so you know, I've enhanced these black drones myself to equal your strength, and they have some other, shall we say, _interesting_ features to deal with people like you."

With that, external plates slid back and sideways all over the suit, revealing a deadly green grow. Too late, Kara realized the black drones had lead embedded in their armor, hiding kryptonite underneath. Desperately, she tried to break the grip the suit had on her wrist, but her strength was already failing. She saw, seemingly in slow motion, as the suit's free arm extended a blade of kryptonite from its wrist, watched helplessly as it drove the sharp edge into her side. The breath was driven clean out of her body as she heard screaming from somewhere, and she could only look on dazedly at the black mask of the black ATOM suit, hear the satisfaction in Indigo's voice.

"Guess you're not so super after all," Indigo said, and with that the drone severed the blade from itself, leaving the deadly kryptonite in Kara's body, and flung her towards the ground.

…

Barry might have torn his throat screaming as he saw Kara stabbed through the side with a kryptonite blade. He was so in shock that his brain didn't immediately register that she was now speeding to the ground, and it took every ounce of his speed to run underneath and catch her, falling and sliding on his knees to cushion her body.

He couldn't tell if she was breathing, and the area around the protruding blade had already taken on an infected, darkly green tinge. Barry knew he had to do something, but seeing her like this was overloading his brain, paralyzing him. Even worse, he didn't even have to look up to sense that a group of suits was surrounding him.

Barry gently laid Kara on the ground and prepared to defend her, but before even deciding what he would do, three arrows suddenly sprouted out of the legs of the nearest red-and-blue suits. A moment later, the arrows beeped, and all three suits exploded in a shower of sparks. Three more suits collapsed to the ground as three knives, expertly thrown, embedded themselves to the hilt in their heads, severing exactly the right connections to disable them.

"Barry, get her out of here!" Oliver yelled as he and Sara took defensive positions in front of him, determined to cover his escape. He glanced at Kara, motionless on the ground and whose skin was turning an even more sickly green. "She's not safe here."

"But–"

"No buts, Barry," Sara interjected. "Get her to the safe point. Go!"

Barry wasn't going to waste precious time arguing. He quickly scooped Kara into his arms and took off from the battle. With a split second glance behind him, he briefly witnessed the dance between the Green Arrow and the White Canary as arrows flew and bo staff whirled, and then they were lost from view.

…

 _I'm such an idiot_ , Barry thought.

Of course this is what he needed to do. Prior to the fight, the team had agreed that casualties were inevitable, and in the event things went downhill, they didn't want everyone caught at STAR Labs. Thus a medical evacuation point had been set up at the Wests' house, the only somewhat nearby location they could secure and at least partially equip with medical supplies. Given his speed, it was agreed that Barry would be responsible for ferrying the injured here.

"Help!" Barry yelled, barging in the door while still cradling Kara in his arms.

"Put her down here," Caitlin commanded immediately, indicating one of the clean white cots they had set up in the living room.

"What happened?!" Alex demanded, moving to help Barry move her sister gently onto the bed.

Barry explained as quickly as he could while he and Alex arranged Kara on the cot. In the background, Caitlin was enumerating the things she needed to Diggle, who responded immediately and began collecting supplies. Alex and Diggle had argued before that they should be defending STAR Labs with the rest, but as their military backgrounds also included some basic medical training, they were the only ones capable of effectively assisting Caitlin.

"I was too scared to remove the blade, but I carried her as carefully as I could," Barry finished shakily.

"You did the right thing, Barry," Caitlin said, coming up behind him and kneeling to examine Kara.

"What can I do?" Barry asked.

"You've done enough bringing her here," Caitlin replied, now only half listening as she evaluated Kara's condition, Alex holding Kara's limp hand. "You need to go back."

"No, I'll stay."

"Barry, you can't do anything."

"I can't just leave her!"

"Barry," Diggle said gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Let Caitlin do her job. You go do yours. Kara would want that."

Barry wanted to argue more, but he looked down and realized Caitlin had already shut him out, focusing on her patient. He knew her well enough to know that this was the time to get out of her way.

"Go back, Barry," Diggle urged. "Give them hell for us. For her."

Barry nodded, swallowed hard, and speeded out of the house back towards STAR Labs and Indigo's robot army, the panic in his heart quickly morphing into rage.

…

The battle of STAR Labs continued with increasing ferocity, although the heroes were able to exploit one advantage. Indigo's particular hatred for Kryptonians led to a specific design for the black drones to handle Superman and Supergirl. They were not, however, equipped to handle a phasing Martian or a vibrating metahuman.

As Indigo had only expected Clark's and Kara's strength to be a problem, J'onn and Barry instead used their powers to pass through the armor and kryptonite of the black drones and destroy their internal circuitry. The rest of the heroes focused on cleaning up the red-and-blue drones, although several more of them did go down, forcing Barry to make more evacuation runs.

Despite their efforts, it seemed apparent that Indigo might overrun them with sheer force of numbers, but just when the team was pushed up against the walls of STAR Labs, the hacking team inside managed to disrupt Indigo and shut down the drones. The defenders were suddenly faced with a deluge of red, blue, and black metal shells, lifeless and posing no threat.

Amid the excited chatter coming over the communication system, it was deduced that Ray and Felicity had blocked Indigo's signal and disabled the drones, Cisco had traced the signal to find Indigo's location, and Winn had uploaded a virus to incapacitate her. Barry tersely asked for Indigo's location and Cisco, flush from victory, didn't notice Barry's emotional state and blurted it out. Before anyone could blink, Barry was gone.

…

"Oh great. It's Supergirl's lover boy."

Barry found Indigo lying flat on her back on the floor of the military bunker she had commandeered. Despite Winn's virus, she was continuing to make jerky motions with her arms and legs, clearly trying to get them under control but to no avail. She was defenseless, and judging by her groaning, she was also in pain.

He walked to her side and knelt down next to her head. "You wanted to kill her," he said. He wasn't outraged or incredulous. He stated it simply as a fact, even as his mind replayed the scene over and over. _The black drone stopping Kara mid-flight and grabbing her wrist_.

"Well done. You figure that out all by yourself?" she spat. Her body gave a particularly hard jerk, as if she had tried to grab his neck with her arm, but the limb didn't get the message. _The extension of the glowing green blade out of the drone's arm. The swift thrust into Kara's side. The way her body went rigid in midair._

"I can't let you hurt anyone else," he stated, again in a deadened, matter-of-fact voice. _Kara hurtling towards the ground. The dead, lifeless weight of her body as he cradled her in his arms. His panicked mind, pleading internally over and over for her to be okay as he sped back to the house._

"What are you going to do, beat me up? Put me through 'enhanced interrogation'? I know what you humans do with prisoners. Nothing about you scares me." _How her skin had simultaneously gotten greener and paler by the time he had laid her on the cot. Her complete lack of reaction as Caitlin carefully poked, prodded, and examined her._

"Maybe you do know what humans can do," Barry acknowledged. He raised his right hand in front of Indigo's face and curled his pinkie and ring finger back while extending his middle, index, and thumb, forming a gun shape. "You don't know what _I_ can do." _The pain that built up behind his eyes at the thought of her so badly hurt. The anger that grew in his chest as he ran back to STAR Labs. The fury that exploded behind his fists as he took out drone after drone._

Barry's hand began to vibrate, becoming a blur. "I wonder how long it'll take to scramble your brain," he said, slowly moving his fingers towards her forehead. "Or whatever the hell's in there. Should we find out?" _The hardening of his resolve as he asked Cisco for Indigo's location._

Indigo's eyes widened, and she began growling and struggling frantically, trying to move away, but Winn's virus did its job well. She seemed to only now realize this man hadn't come to take her prisoner. He had come to execute her. _The eerie quiet of his mind as he resolved to kill…_

"Flash!"

Barry stopped and looked behind him, and saw Clark doubled over, leaning on his knees as he sucked in air. Standing next to him was Oliver.

"Flash," Oliver repeated, calmly. "Don't."

Barry cursed to himself, realizing that he had taken too long and that Clark, slower than Barry though he was, had clearly pushed himself to his limits to catch up, bringing the only other person who might reach him.

"You're not exactly in a position to judge, _Arrow_ ," he said, deliberately invoking Oliver's previous, more murderous alter-ego. "Besides, this doesn't concern you."

"Actually, it does," Oliver replied. "We've all been fighting her, remember?"

Barry didn't reply. He was still faster than Clark, far faster than Oliver. He looked back at Indigo and contemplated just doing the deed and being done with it.

"She's going to be fine," Oliver continued. There was no need to specify the "she."

"How is she?" Barry asked immediately, as he had shut off his communicator when he had run off.

"Caitlin's managed to extract the kryptonite from her side. Her system was severely poisoned by it, but she'll pull through."

A weight that Barry hadn't even been aware of lifted off his chest. The blade had gone in so deeply and Kara had looked so lifeless that he had unconsciously assumed the worst, and his need for vengeance immediately subsided upon learning she would be okay. Even so, however, he knew that letting Indigo live opened the possibility that something equally terrible could happen again, and knowing the storm of emotions he had felt now, how could he risk other people suffering the same turmoil?

"If we let Indigo live, she could do something like this again. I should end it," Barry said.

"Or you can be better," Oliver countered. "That lightning bolt chose _you_ , because _you_ , more than any of us, can be better."

For a split second, Barry's mind zoomed back to a conversation, seemingly so long ago, on a rooftop one night in Starling City. He looked again into Oliver's eyes.

"I still believe in you," Oliver finished. "And Supergirl does, too."

Barry turned his head back to Indigo, defenseless on the ground, then slowly stood up and backed away. His vibrating hand came to a stop.

…

"The blade's tip actually splintered into pieces after stabbing Kara. It was only with Alex's help and the DEO's information on Kara's physiology that I was able to get it all out."

"But she's going to be okay?" Barry asked, wanting to know the bottom line.

"Yeah, Barry," Caitlin replied, smiling tiredly. "She'll be fine. She's weak, and we're trying to figure out how to move her, but she's awake now if you want to see her."

For the first time in what felt like forever, a small smile appeared on Barry's lips, and he walked quietly over to a cot separated from the rest of the living room by a moveable curtain. He spared a quick look at the other beds, where Roy, Carter, and Tatsu were resting, all exhausted but reasonably well patched up by Caitlin and her limited resources. Barry felt relief that they were all going to be okay, and then he was behind the curtain.

"Hey, you," came a soft voice.

True, there were dark circles under her eyes, her skin was unnaturally pale, and her torso was heavily bandaged, but just seeing her alive and awake was enough to make Barry's heart swell.

"Hey, yourself." He knelt down on the floor by the side of her cot. "How're you feeling?"

"I want donuts," Kara said plaintively, causing Barry to chuckle.

"Not ice cream?"

"That too."

Barry couldn't believe that _she_ was the one lifting _his_ spirits. "You're unbelievable."

"Thanks. I try." A small smirk appeared on her lips, and that more than anything convinced Barry that she would be just fine.

"Well," he sighed. "We won."

"So it seems. You guys capture Indigo?"

"We did," Barry said. Something must have been showing on his face or in his voice, because Kara frowned slightly.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"No," Barry said, a little too quickly.

"You're a terrible liar, Barry."

He sighed. "You need your rest. I can tell you later."

"You can tell me now, or I'll leave instructions for Caitlin and Felicity to harass you until I wake up."

Barry stared. Kara was _not_ playing around.

"Okay," Barry said slowly. He then proceeded to tell her about how he had run off after Indigo alone, how he had fully intended to kill her, and how it was only a final intervention by Clark and Oliver that had stayed his hand. He described his panic when she had fallen from the sky, his rage afterwards as he destroyed suit after suit, his cold determination to avenge her, and finally, the extreme effort it took him to stand up and walk away from Indigo's defenseless form.

Through it all, Barry never met her eyes, focusing mostly on the cot, and when he finished, there was silence. Then, creeping into his peripheral vision, her hand slid over and wrapped itself around his. He looked up, and Kara was looking at him with a gentle smile.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I–for what?" he stammered, confused.

"For not killing her. For proving Oliver right. That you _are_ better."

Barry lowered his head. "I still _wanted_ to kill her. I still felt like…like I was capable of it."

"The funny thing about being an alien," Kara replied, "is that you get a pretty clear idea of what it means to be human. At the end of the day, you _did_ feel all of those things, but you still walked away. And you made your choice because you knew what was right. That makes you a hero."

Barry looked back up at her and felt her proud gaze, and he breathed a little easier. Returning her smile, he quipped, "Actually, I made my choice after thinking about you."

Kara shrugged, smiling a little wider. "Well, that's a close second."

Barry chuckled. After a short pause, his smile grew as everything began to sink in. "I'm really glad you're going to be okay."

"Me too. Thank you for getting me here so fast."

"It was part of the plan."

"Still. Thanks."

"Always," he said, leaning forward to plant a light kiss on her forehead.

…

Eventually, Caitlin, Alex, and Diggle were able to put together a stretcher to bring Kara upstairs while disturbing her body as little as possible. As the most grievously injured, it was important for Kara to rest, and so, between the three of them and Barry, they brought her to Barry's room on the stretcher. Alex helped her struggle into more comfortable clothes and tucked her into the bed. Barry and Caitlin then came into the room when she was declared decent.

Kara directed a smile at Caitlin. "Thank you for saving my life, Caitlin."

"Hey, I helped," said Alex, a little indignantly.

"Yeah, but you're my sister. Keeping me safe is your job," Kara retorted.

"Wow, so ungrateful," Alex grumbled, although she was also smiling with affection and relief.

Caitlin laughed. "You're welcome, Kara. Now rest. I'll be back to check on you later." With that, Caitlin left the room to attend her other patients.

Alex was next. She bent over and gave Kara a little hug, careful not to squeeze too hard. She straightened up and started to leave the room, but then turned on her heel and glared at Kara, holding up a finger at her. "You scare me like this again, I'm calling Mom."

Kara lifted her hands off the bed sheet in surrender. "Consider me warned," she said. Nodding in satisfaction, Alex gave Kara one last smile and left the room.

That left Barry, who walked over to what was technically _his_ bedside and grinned at her. "Your sister's awesome," he remarked.

Kara's eyes crinkled slightly. "Yeah, she's okay." She then held out her hand to him. "Stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course." Pulling up one of his chairs with one hand and taking her hand in the other, Barry sat down. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," Kara sighed, and she relaxed into the bed, closing her eyes. After a few seconds though, she turned her head towards him and opened one eye slightly. "You know, I'm really woozy, and I'm also giddy from the fact that we stopped female Skynet from taking over the world," she started, "but I want to say it anyway. I love you, Barry Allen."

Touched, Barry shifted so that he could hold her hand with both of his. Bringing it up to his lips, he kissed her fingers and smiled. "I love you too, Kara Danvers."

She smiled back, closed her eyes, and then fell straight to sleep, her hand still between both of his.


	10. Founding members

Kara heard a low whistle behind her and turned to see Barry walking toward her, head on a swivel. "Wow, Cat Grant knows how to throw a party."

"That she does," Kara agreed, looking around with him. In celebration of yet another award winning article from CatCo, this one featuring the newly dubbed "Battle of STAR Labs" from a few weeks prior, Ms. Grant had decided to hold a party on the top floor of the National City Museum of Modern Art, which offered a spectacular view of the city. Floor-to-ceiling reproductions of the magazine cover showcasing the article were stationed at regular intervals around the walls, and waiters and waitresses zipped around among the guests, offering food and drinks.

After a few seconds of pretending to be interested in their surroundings, Kara and Barry finally made eye contact and smiled. "I'm so glad you made it," Kara said.

"Me too," Barry replied, kissing her lightly in greeting before leaning back slightly, taking in the sight of her as he held both her hands. Shaking his head slightly, he marveled, "It's like you were never stabbed. Fast healing is supposed to be _my_ thing!"

"The wonders of a yellow sun," Kara chuckled. "Besides, you're already faster than literally everyone on this planet. Leave some cool powers for the rest of us, will you?"

"Fine," Barry sighed. He then looked up, tilting his head as he caught strains of the music playing. "Well," he continued, looking back at her, "since I'm a little late, how about I make it up to you with a dance?"

"I like that idea."

…

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Kara asked as they swayed side to side.

"Anything."

"It's about the Battle," Kara began. By this point, everyone knew what "Battle" referred to in normal conversation. "You know, we all worked pretty well together."

"We did," Barry agreed. "We had to, with the stakes so high."

"Right," Kara said. "But this has been a crazy year. Alien prisoners, metahuman criminals…everything's changing and getting more dangerous."

"Hey, we've changed too," Barry said, gripping her waist a little tighter. "Don't worry, we can handle it."

"No, I know," Kara said. "My point is that these threats are here to stay, and it doesn't just affect National City or Metropolis or Starling or Central City. It affects everyone, and we need to be ready."

Barry tilted his head to one side. "What, you're saying we should make the team-up permanent?"

"It's Clark's idea, actually," Kara clarified. "He's pushed for an organization of heroes for a while now. A way to unite Earth's protectors when threats like Indigo show up."

"A superhero task force."

"Exactly."

Barry looked up from Kara's face, apparently thinking as their steps to the music filled the gap in conversation. He was lost in thought for so long that Kara had to prod him. "Well? What do you think?"

"It's a good idea in theory," Barry began, "but it's tricky in practice. A task force to address any threat would be nice, but I protect Central City because it's where my loved ones are. Oliver does the same for Starling, and you for National City. Stretching ourselves beyond that on a regular basis would be tough."

"A very good point," Kara said.

"Plus," Barry said, "the power dynamic's going to be a lot different from what any of us are used to. I mean, what if some of us think we should act one way, but others in the group think another way? Do we go with the group, even if we think it's the wrong choice?"

"Also an important point," Kara said again, smiling.

"On top of that…what?" Barry asked. "Why are you smiling?"

"This is exactly why I wanted to ask you your thoughts," Kara said. "Clark hasn't pitched his idea to too many people yet, because he knows it'll never work if he tries to head the whole thing himself. He needs help, but he wants to bring in only a few others at the beginning. People that would help the group start off on the right foot. He's asked me, but I think you should be one of those people too."

"Me?"

"Yes you, silly," Kara replied, affectionately tapping him on the nose with her finger.

"Look, I agree with you. There are a lot of things we need to work out, but we can do so much good with this idea, this team. I really feel that, and I want your help to make it real." Kara took this moment as they danced to shift her hands from around his neck to cup his face. "I will always believe we're stronger together."

Barry stared into her eyes for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you've convinced me. If you believe in it, then I believe in it, too." He paused a moment before continuing. "Besides, how can I turn down a chance to work with such an attractive Kryptonian?" Kara smiled at the seeming compliment until Barry added, "I'm talking about Superman, of course," at which point she lightly (for her) slapped him on the arm, eliciting a satisfying "Ow!" from him.

They returned to dancing. "How many people does Clark want to start with?" Barry asked.

"Probably around six or seven. He's planning to recruit Oliver next."

"Any thoughts on what he's going to call this thing?"

"He's pretty partial to 'Justice League.'"

"Wow, your cousin has a name for everything."

"He really is such a nerd."

Barry laughed. "Still, I guess it's pretty cool. It feels like we're starting something big, you know?"

Kara smirked. "Think you can handle it, Scarlet Speedster?"

"I don't know, Girl of Steel," Barry replied, twirling her outwards as they danced. "I guess we'll find out."

/end

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